AFL Record, Round 14, 2010 by The Slattery Media Group

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE AFL GAME

ROUND 14, 2010 JULY 1-4 $5 (INC. GST)

ROUND 14, JULY 1-4, 2010

Features 57

Darren Jolly

Loving life as a Magpie.

SHINING LIGHT:

Brisbane youngster Tom Rockliﬀ is the round 13 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.

Trent Cotchin

A committed young Tiger makes his mark.

Moments of the decade

Carlton’s dramatic fall from grace.

Regulars 4

Backchat

Your say on the football world.

The Bounce

Views, news, ﬁrst person, facts, data, culture.

Matchday

Stats, history and line-ups.

Dream Team

Advice from Mr Fantasy, our Dream Team expert.

70 THIS WEEK’S COVERS Tiger Trent Cotchin is featured on the national cover while Darren Jolly appears on the CollingwoodWest Coast cover.

74 76 78

Answer Man Kids’ Corner NAB AFL Rising Star Talking Point

Ted Hopkins ﬁnds a cure for the congestion.

TRENT COTCHIN COVER PHOTO: MICHAEL WILLSON

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feedback

Your say on the world of football

EDITOR’S LETTER

Saints’ system passes the test

Substance over sensationalism

ON THE R RIGHT TRACK:

The Dockers have sshown faith in coach Mark Harvey by extending his contract to the end of 2012.

Re: Ted Hopkins’ analysis of Carlton’s performance in round 12 against North Melbourne (‘Roo pressure puts glitch in Blues’ system’, AFL Record, round 13). It’s a great column, which I predict will have a slow burn. Sensationalist articles come and go in the weekly news cycle, but ones like this will spread like ripples on a pond. SCOTT HARGREAVES, VIA EMAIL

Leading from the front The Hawks are lucky to have such a level-headed captain in Sam Mitchell (‘Pulling the strings’, AFL Record, round 13). The mature approach he takes when dealing with his teammates is commendable and refreshing. On top of that, he’s simply a great player. KATIE WILLIAMS, MOUNT WAVERLEY, VIC.

Dockers defying the doubters There are a few people waiting for Fremantle to fall away. Maybe that’s simply what happens when a club hasn’t enjoyed success. The doubters should realise this Dockers squad is ﬁnally going somewhere, with the right mix of experienced players and some exciting young talent. Congratulations to the club hierarchy for putting their faith in Mark Harvey by extending his contract last week. ROD MASON, BATEMAN, WA.

Time to deliver, Demons What happened to Melbourne’s supposed resurgence? Yes, it was a great effort to get a draw against Collingwood on the Queen’s Birthday holiday Monday, but that performance – and the promise shown in earlier weeks – came to nothing against the Adelaide Crows last weekend. This was a winnable game and the four points would have given us an outside chance of making the ﬁnals, or at the very least continuing to prove we’re on the way. We know we have a young team, but so do the Crows. Let’s stop talking about

PRODUCTION EDITOR Michael Lovett WRITERS GENERAL MANAGER, MARKETING Nick Bowen, Ben Collins, Jim Main, Cameron Noakes, & COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS Peter Ryan, Callum Twomey Paul Waldren SUB-EDITORS AFL CORPORATE Gary Hancock, Howard Kotton BUSINESS MANAGER Richard Simkiss STATISTICIAN Cameron Sinclair AFL RECORD MANAGING EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR Geoﬀ Slattery Andrew Hutchison AFL RECORD EDITOR DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Peter Di Sisto Sam Russell

4 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

our potential and start playing consistently well, like good teams should. MURRAY, COBDEN, VIC.

HAVE YOUR SAY

The best letter each round will receive SportsEars, a portable radio that allows you to listen to the umpires at AFL venues. Email aﬂrecordeditor@slatterymedia. com or write to AFL Record, Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, VIC, 3008. PLEASE NOTE, THE AFL RECORD WENT TO PRINT A DAY EARLIER THAN NORMAL BECAUSE OF THE THURSDAY GAME. AS A RESULT, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE UPDATES ON SOME EVENTS.

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� Many observers were quick to start questioning St Kilda’s premiership credentials after consecutive losses in rounds seven and eight (to Carlton and Essendon). The Saints’ loss to the Bombers was their third in four matches, and they were playing without captain Nick Riewoldt. The team that won 19 straight home and away matches last year, according to many experts, looked vulnerable, a shadow of the side that won so much respect last season. Five straight wins later – including victories against Fremantle in Perth in round 12 and an impressive defeat of premier Geelong at the MCG last weekend – and, not surprisingly, the Saints are back among the favoured teams for this year’s premiership. St Kilda has perfected an all-ground style of football (see Peter Ryan’s story on its ability to limit opposition scoring for long periods of games, starting on page 9) that can withstand a loss of personnel. Riewoldt’s imminent return will only strengthen them. The Saints also deserve credit for managing a series of off-field challenges while remaining firmly focused on winning games. St Kilda is on track for its third top-four finish in a row, and another shot at that elusive second flag. Nobody should really be that surprised. PETER DI SISTO

ADDRESS CORRESPONDENCE TO TheTHIS Editor,WEEK’S AFL Record,COVER Ground Floor, XXXX XXXXX 140XXXXXXXXXXXXX Harbour Esplanade, X Docklands, Victoria, 3008. Go9627 to aﬂ photos.com.au P: (03) 2600 F: (03) 9627 2650 E: peterd@slatterymedia.com to order prints

of this image.

AFL RECORD, VOL. 99, ROUND 14, 2010 Copyright. ACN No. 004 155 211. ISSN 1444-2973, Print Post approved PP320258/00109

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Rd 13 Hawthorn v Essendon, MCG � From the moment he arrived at Hawthorn more than five years ago, as a precocious 17-year-old, Lance Franklin has shown a rare capacity to astonish. I remember asking Shane Crawford about Franklin during his first pre-season training, late in 2004. Crawford, who had relinquished the captaincy the year before Franklin’s debut, just shook his head and said: “Some of the things he can do are frightening.” We’ve seen the truth of those words many times since, but never more so than at the start of the split round, when the big man’s astonishing running goals in the last quarter helped Hawthorn to a win against Essendon. For years, we’ve marvelled at vision of Ray Gabelich’s run in the last quarter of the 1964 Grand Final, and Phil Manassa’s in Collingwood’s loss in the 1977 Grand Final replay, but this was something else – another level of commitment, self-belief and, when the runs were over, pinpoint expertise. What separated the Franklin run/runs (images from his second run are captured here) from the rest was the fact he was not only bouncing and running flat out, but was chased and chased and chased, first by Mark McVeigh and then by Cale Hooker. Under such pressure, he delivered – two goals of the year, within minutes of each other. The joy for Hawk fans is this: Franklin is just 23, and still to hit his peak. GEOFF SLATTERY PHOTO: LACHLAN CUNNINGHAM/AFL PHOTOS

GO TO PAGE 12 FOR FIVE OF FRANKLIN’S BEST EFFORTS

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VIEWS NEWS FIRST PERSON FACTS DATA CULTURE

NO RESPITE: St Kilda’s pressure is suﬀocating, as Geelong’s Josh Hunt discovered in this contest with Saints forward Stephen Milne at the MCG last week.

DEFENSIVE PRESSURE

There’s no escaping the Saints’ stranglehold

PETER RYA N

t Kilda strangles the life out of its opposition. It not only defends, it obliterates. In six games this season, the Saints have played quarters without allowing their opposition to score a goal. Hitting the Saints in such a stingy mood is like meeting a waterfall on a casual kayaking expedition. In two of those games – against Geelong last week and Collingwood in round three – the Saints have kept their opposition goalless for the entire second half. That’s eight quarters in 2010 where they have not conceded a goal, which is, even with luck factored in NEWS TRACKER

(opponents missing goalscoring opportunities or conditions not conducive to high scoring, for example) great football. Being able to achieve this not only wins games, it demoralises opponents. Of the 42 times this season a team has been kept goalless for a quarter, the Saints have inﬂicted the pain the most. Fremantle is next best, keeping opponents without a goal for a quarter ﬁve times. Of the other contenders, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs have done so twice and Collingwood once. Under Ross Lyon’s coaching, keeping the opposition goalless from one siren to the next has

become a relatively common event. In his ﬁrst game as coach in round one, 2007, St Kilda stopped Melbourne from scoring in the third quarter. It repeated the dose in three more games that season. In 2008, the Saints’ opposition was kept to goalless quarters six times. This was the season when St Kilda turned its defensive efforts into a winning phenomenon. The Saints have lost only 10 of the 41 matches they have played since stellar performers Nick Dal Santo and Stephen Milne were left out of the side in round 13, 2008. That statement – that defensive actions were expected in all parts of the ground at all times, regardless of scoreboard or the position you played – and the willingness for players to implement those ‘non-negotiables’ has been part

of the reason the Saints have enjoyed recent winning success. In 2009, St Kilda stopped the opposition from scoring a goal in a quarter 14 times. It brought the Saints within – let’s be real – a toe-poke of a premiership. That they were kept goalless in the last quarter of the Grand Final was a cruel coincidence. They had ﬁnished the season the fourth highest scorer in the competition, so their game is all-round: stop the opposition scoring, score yourself. The Saints’ system is so good and difﬁcult to break that it overcame the absence of Dal Santo, Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Sam Fisher and Brendon Goddard in round 19 last year to defeat Hawthorn. St Kilda has rebounded from the loss of skipper Riewoldt in 2010 (remember it kept CON T IN U ED NE X T PAGE

St Kilda’s Steven Baker handed a 12-match suspension (nine with an early guilty plea) pending a challenge at the AFL Tribunal. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 9

the bounce

Collingwood goalless after it lost the champion midway through the round-three match), and will benefit from his return. When the Sydney Swans were at their miserly best in 2005 (and Lyon was an assistant), they kept the opposition goalless in a quarter only five times. Three were during the finals series, and the Swans won the flag. In general terms, St Kilda’s system relies on total team effort. The Saints are strong at stoppages, which means they can win plenty of 50-50 situations and then they can push into a full-court press, crowding their own forward line with numbers and daring the opposition to run the ball out. It is good to watch as it forces opponents to take risks (and keep their nerve), but it is not without its own risk. If the opposition can break through, it can score. Numbers crowd space when the opposition goes forward with slow ball movement. Lyon would be pleased the season is back on track, but he’s not the type to get carried away. His description of last week’s performance shows that every week presents a new challenge: “We played good aggressive footy, defended pretty well, attacked OK and walked away with four points.”

SUCCESSFUL RETURN

Pratt proves his mettle NICK BOW EN

t the start of the season, new North Melbourne coach Brad Scott made a tough decision. Despite presiding over a squad lacking experience and hard bodies, Scott decided 27-year-old defender Daniel Pratt needed time in the VFL to regain ﬁtness and form. Even after North’s young side made a slow start to the season, including a brutal 102-point thrashing by St Kilda in round two, Scott resisted any temptation to rush Pratt back. This, despite Pratt being named one of the Roos’ deputy vice-captains at the start of last year after his outstanding 2007 and ’08 seasons. Perhaps Scott was mindful of how Pratt had struggled for form after returning from a mid-season knee injury last year. His pre-season had also been interrupted by a hamstring strain. Certainly, when asked about Pratt’s extended stint in the VFL – he played ﬁve games, missing

BACK WITH A BANG:

Daniel Pratt was primed to play well on his return to the Roos’ line-up after being allowed to ﬁnd form and ﬁtness in the VFL.

several weeks after round one with a groin strain – Scott was emphatic he remained in North’s best side when ﬁt and in form. A point Pratt has reinforced since returning to the team in round eight against Adelaide, especially in the past two rounds, when he had 20 and 27 possessions respectively against Carlton and Port Adelaide.

W H E N T H E Y ’ R E N O T P L AY I N G

Player

Hardest part of pre-season training:

If you could play another professional sport, it would be:

The furthest you’ve been ome: from home:

Teammate most likely to Google h his own name:

Shaun Burgoyne Hawthorn

The running sessions

NFL or soccer for Manchester United

New York

JJosh Gibson

Amon Buchanan Brisbane Lions

Sh huttle Shuttle dr rill drill

T Tw Twenty20 cricket

United States

JJustin Sherman

Steven Baker St Kilda

Early starts

e Soccer

U t States United

Adam er Schneider

Brett Kirk Sydney Swans

The sand dune runs

Ice e ey hockey

Ire ela Ireland

ow Ed Barlow

NEWS TRACKER

Richmond’s Graham Polak cleared of injury after a heavy head clash in a VFL game.

10 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

The way I’ve played the past few weeks has deﬁnitely been pleasing DANIEL PRATT

Last round against the Power, Pratt was outstanding, displaying the straight-ahead aggression and defensive rebound that made him such an important player for the Roos. Speaking with the AFL Record this week, Pratt said his VFL stint had been frustrating but, in retrospect, had been the best thing for him. “Brad (Scott) just said he wanted me to get that real continuity in my game so I could perform week in, week out, which I wasn’t doing last year,” Pratt said. “I came back too early from my knee last year and, if you don’t play at 100 per cent, with the speed of the game now, you can really get yourself into trouble with form and injury. “The way I’ve played the past few weeks has deﬁnitely been pleasing, but it’s how I expect to play and how the coaches expect me to play.”

MEASURING UP

No tall tales here MICH A EL LOV ET T

ack Riewoldt’s stature has grown to the point where there has almost been as much discussion about him as there is his famous cousin Nick. While the St Kilda champion has been in the background for most of the season nursing a badly torn hamstring, Jack has been lauded for his goalkicking feats in a Richmond side that struggled in the early part of the season. But as Jack has worked his way to the top of the AFL goalkicking table, there have been some inevitable comparisons between the cousins, from their ability to their physical shape. Recently on Fox Sports’ On The Couch, panellists Gerard Healy, James Hird and Mike Sheahan expressed minor surprise that Jack is actually taller than Nick. The 2010 AFL Record Season Guide lists Jack at 195cm and Nick at 193cm. “Could there be a mistake?” they asked. Vision of the pair shaking hands after a game in 2009

shows that indeed Jack is slightly taller than Nick, but that hasn’t always been the case. Jack, who was selected No. 13 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, has grown three centimetres since arriving from Clarence in Tasmania. He was listed at 192cm in the 2007 and 2008 Season Guides and 193cm in the 2009 Season Guide before adding two centimetres this year. For the conspiracy theorists who think the Tigers might be a little loose with their weights and measures, Richmond’s elite performance manager Matt Hornsby says players are weighed regularly and measured annually. “They are weighed before and after every training session and we measure them once a year,” Hornsby said. “It’s not uncommon for 17-to-20-year-old males to grow and that has been the case with Jack. A few others, like Andrew Collins, Trent Cotchin and Dean Polo, have also shot up.” For the record, Nick has not grown in his time with St Kilda – he was listed at 193cm in the 2001 Season Guide. However, he weighed just 81kg back then while today he tips the scales at 98kg. Jack was 86kg in his ﬁrst season with the Tigers in 2007 and is now 93kg. GROWTH SPURT:

Jack Riewoldt (right) now has a slight height advantage over his cousin Nick.

NEWS TRACKER

PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING FOR O’KEEFE � Recruiting a footballer is not like following a recipe. You can’t flick to the slow-cooked food pages and find a 197cm, 104kg hunk of meat, roll him in paprika, stew him for five hours, add a splash of red and, “voila”, you have a centre half-forward. And there is no section on lightly battered, 80kg stir-fried wingers. The formula to finding a footballer is not that simple. That’s why when football scouts came knocking on Ryan O’Keefe’s door back in 1999, they mostly wanted to discuss someone else. They were interested in teenager Ezra Bray, who was staying with the O’Keefe family. The reality was Bray’s football attributes appeared more appetising and he was snapped up reasonably early in the draft, Geelong using its 17th pick to secure him. O’Keefe, on the other hand, had to wait. He was not tall or short and was generally lacking obvious bells and d whistles, despite winning the t Calder Cannons’’ best and fairest award. rd d. But recipes can an be n ney flawed. The Sydney Swans decided to o take O’Keefe with h selection 56 overall. This weekend, as the stt Swans’ 2009 best e er and fairest winner lines up for his 200th game, it iss apparent O’Keefee was a steal. And to illustrate how formulas can be deceiving, Bray was delisted by Geelong at the end n of 2001 nd and dumped by Carlton C the following year. On top of his best b and ’ ’Keefe fairest award, O’Keefe has a premiership medal medal and All-Australian honours; honours; he was second in the h Swans’ he best and fairest in 2006, has played International Rules, o onal

represented Victoria and won a Jim Stynes Medal. O’Keefe says he has vivid memories of his time at the Cannons and the day he was drafted to the Swans. “It was hard leaving friends and family, but I didn’t really care. I just wanted a game,” he says. However, there were struggles. Building strength was essential for a mid-sized player who relied on his marking, he had injuries and there were “family issues”. Those issues involved the loss of his brother Aaron, who died in a car accident. The impact was signiﬁcant on the young footballer and he once said he thought about his brother every day. He also wore an armband for him in every game. O’Keefe now has a “new perspective”. Ten months ago, he and his wife, Tara, had a baby boy, Levi. And O’Keefe is somewhat of a “foodie”. his foodie . He cooks hi family’s meals, he teaches tea ac his teammates how to t cook on and he recently appeared app pea Channel Ten’s MasterChef. Mastter As for following recipes rre in the kitchen,, O’Keefe admits adm mi his reluctance e: ““I use reluctance: recipes forr iideas and then I’m I pretty much to my m own devices after affte that,” he says. And why wh hy not? Certainl ly on a Certainly football footbal ll ﬁeld, O’Keefe O’Keef fe is proof pudding in thee p that a little l imagination imag gin can produce pr remarkable rem ma results. res su CAMERON C AMER NOAKES

Fremantle defender Scott Thornton announces retirement after an injury-ravaged season. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 11

the bounce

F I V E O F T H E B E S T F R O M B U D DY

South Melbourne in 1933. While recuperating the following season, he was invited to broadcast matches on 3UZ with commentator Jack Gurry, using the now-popular newspaper diagram. In 2001, at the age of 92, Dockendorff reminisced for the book Richmond F.C: A Century of League Football about the R HET T BA RT LET T difﬁculty of calling matches at that time. n the 1930s, The Argus “Only three of us could ﬁt in newspaper unveiled a the commentary box. We used to unique addition to radio climb up a ladder, about 10 feet broadcasts of VFL matches. (about three metres) high to get The Argus 3UZ Football there and one time somebody Broadcast Plan was an overhead pinched the ladder and we had diagram of a football ground, to slide down the pole to get to divided up as a clock face, to the ground,” he said. assist those listening at home to “One day, I said ‘The ball is at follow the play. It was inserted 4 o’clock’ and somebody into Friday editions of the in the crowd yelled, newspaper for use the ‘You’re a bloody following day. liar Dockendorff, The more Listeners would it’s not!’ It went simply cut out letters you got all over the page on the for the abuse, the the air.” morning of the The radio better the station game, and place station received it beside their liked it letters of wireless radio as FORMER 3UZ COMMENTATOR complaint from SID DOCKENDORFF they listened to listeners appalled the broadcast. at the language The captured through commentators had to be the microphones. precise in their description But it didn’t matter, as to ensure the listener could Dockendorff remembered, visualise the position of the ball. “The more letters you got for For instance, if the play was on the abuse, the better the station the wing, the commentators liked it.” would say, “The ball is at 3 The Argus faded out its o’clock” or “At 9 o’clock” – diagram before the start of the depending on which side of the 1940s. The newspaper itself ground it was on. closed on January 19, 1957. When a goal was scored, the RADIO PIONEERS

OUT OF THIS WORLD:

Lance Franklin continues to amaze with his unique skills.

Footy callers working around the clock

I � There was plenty of discussion as to where Lance Franklin’s eﬀort against Essendon last round ranked among his best games. p Here are snapshots of some of his dominant outings.

ROUND 6, 2007 V ESSENDON R 18 dis 18 dispo di d disposals, isp spo po eight marks, three tackles, nine goals n ni iine in nee goa go g oa Franklin F Fr ranklin ra ran an nk nkl klin lin saw oﬀ three opponents – Dustin Fletcher, F Fl lletche le let etc tch che hee Adam McPhee and Mal Michael – in a dazzling d da azzling az zzl zzli zlin ing ng display against Hawthorn’s arch rival.

FIRST ELIMINATION FINAL, 2007 V ADELAIDE DE E 12 disposals, seven marks, seven goals Who could forget his goal from 50m from the boundary to put the Hawks in front in the dying seconds against the more experienced Crows?

ROUND 5, 2008 V BRISBANE LIONS RO 20 2 0 disposals, nine marks, eight goals, six behinds IIn n a shootout with Daniel Bradshaw, Franklin was unstoppable at the Gabba, kicking goals from all un u n angles in his team’s impressive 12-point win. an a n

SECOND QUALIFYING FINAL, 2008 V WESTERN BULLDOGS 15 disposals, seven marks, eight goals Showed his nerve again under the pressure of ﬁnals football, single-handedly tearing thee Bulldogs apart in Hawthorn’s 51-point victory. y y.

ROUND 11 11, 2008 V ESSENDON 18 disposals, 18 disposal d dis di isp spo pos osa sal al 10 marks, nine goals, ﬁve behinds his Matched M Ma Mat atc tch che hed ed d hi h i personal best goal tally – again against a ag aga ga gain ains nst stt the tth hee Bombers – on his way to a ton for tthe th hee sse season. ea asson aso on n. GEORGE FARRUGIA

NEWS TRACKER

commentator would say, “A goal kicked at 6 o’clock” or “At 12 o’clock”, depending which way the team was kicking. Throughout the decade, the diagram changed to include more details. Grandstands were included, surrounded buildings were shaded, and each team’s dressing room was labelled. One of the men who took up the task of broadcasting using the diagram was former Richmond player and Footscray captain Sid Dockendorff. Dockendorff had suffered career-threatening injuries playing for Richmond in the second semi-ﬁnal against

NEW DIRECTION: The card that helped radio listeners follow the football.

Collingwood livewire Brad Dick cleared of serious damage after injuring his shoulder against the Sydney Swans.

12 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

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the bounce

YOUNG ACHIEVER

Crow star was worth the wait C A L LU M T WOMEY

here was some negativity in the air as Patrick Dangerfield, then only 17, fronted the media in Adelaide at the start of 2008. Dangerfield, the first player picked by the Crows in the previous year’s draft, was about to head to Dubai with his teammates for a NAB Cup match against Collingwood. On his return to the country, Dangerfield would then go back home to Moggs Creek near Victoria’s south coast, where he would attend Oberon High School and complete year 12. It meant it was unlikely the Crows would see their prized recruit in Adelaide colours in 2008, and those who cover the Crows were impatient. “Are you any chance of playing in Dubai?” asked one reporter. “When do you realistically think you’ll play an AFL game?” “No chance this year?” “How will you feel if the other draftees play and you don’t?” “Is there a danger you might be injured due to being put in cotton wool?” Dangerfield answered each question like a seasoned pro, honestly and with a healthy dose of modesty. However, the answer to one question – FACT FILE

Patrick Dangerﬁeld Born: April 5, 1990 Recruited from: Anglesea/Geelong U18 Debut: Round 20, 2008 v Essendon Height: 188cm Weight: 89kg Games: 34 Goals: 40 Player honours: NAB AFL Rising Star nominee 2009

NEWS TRACKER

“Are you much of a student?” – said much about the young midfielder’s character. “Yeah,” Dangerfield responded with a grin. “I think I am.” Dangerfield has never been afraid of backing himself. As a junior, under the instruction of his father John – who used to coach him – he would “take the game on”. It was a simple game and he played in an uncomplicated way. “It’s been a massive part of my development, just being able to have fun,” Dangerfield said. “I’ve always had a crack, rather than being reserved and worried about making a mistake.” Former Fitzroy midfielder Leon Harris, in his role as a junior development officer with AFL Victoria, spotted Dangerfield’s talent and immediately pushed for him to be included in the 2006 AIS-AFL Academy squad. Dangerfield was the last picked and made the most of the program, one night even taking to the stage as part of a Red Faces-style event and impersonating Harris to the delight of the crowd. He continued his development with the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup and was selected as a bottom-age player by the Crows in 2007 with pick 10. Before the draft, he had the conviction to tell all clubs that, regardless of his love of football, finishing school was his priority. Even though he did end up making his debut in 2008 – in round 20 against Essendon – Dangerfield admitted spending the year at home made the transition easier. “That year certainly enabled me to develop as a person. I was very young when I was drafted and I think that extra 12 months certainly helped me mature by the time I came over,” he said. Given special permission to play for the Falcons in the TAC Cup, despite being on Adelaide’s list, Dangerfield worked hard on his decision-making. Playing at half-back meant good decisions could set up goals and bad ones often hurt the team. His Falcons coach,

I’ve always had a crack, rather than being reserved and worried about making a mistake

former Geelong His 2009 captain Garry season Hocking, comprised 21 focused on the games, 19 goals, PATRICK DANGERFIELD theory “the first a NAB AFL Rising option and the Star nomination easy option is and comparisons to often the best one Adelaide champion to take”. Mark Ricciuto. “When I started playing, I Dangerfield’s strength, had a lot of ‘tunnel-vision’ in me tenacity and courage, matched and I just had to have a better with his pace, skills and awareness of the people around goalkicking ability, have made me,” Dangerfield said. him one of the most promising “It’s not something I always young players in the game. do incredibly well, but I’m still This year, he has taken his trying to improve that awareness game to another level. In a and decision-making process.” poor season for the club that he

Essendon coach Matthew Knights calls for a fourth umpire to monitor oﬀ-the-ball incidents.

14 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

ON THE RISE: Patrick Dangerﬁeld

is making his mark in the AFL but he was a fresh-faced teenager (inset) when he was drafted by the Crows in 2007.

puts down to an “inconsistent attitude”, he has probably been the Crows’ best player, making things happen whenever he has the ball or is in the vicinity. His toughness has also been obvious, highlighted by the gang-tackle he endured against Melbourne in round three, a traumatic hit that could well have resulted in a serious head or neck injury. Two weeks later, he broke his wrist after running into a goalpost at full-throttle against the Western Bulldogs and missed two games. He acknowledged his fearless approach needs some NEWS TRACKER

tinkering. “It’s something I’m always working on, just knowing when to take a step back and realise there’s no need to go into certain contests,” he said. “You can be part of the play without always having to be in and under the packs, so that’s something I’m very conscious of.” Indeed, Dangerfield plays like he has a cause. This weekend against Essendon, he will be playing for a cause, the Call to Arms campaign that aims to raise funds to fight cancer in men. Dangerfield, an ambassador for the campaign, has had first-hand experience of the disease, with four members of his family being diagnosed with can over the cancer pas 10 years. past In 2006, he lost his uncle Pe and Peter gr grandfather Kevin to the illness. “It’s really im important and o obviously it’s b been a massive f factor in my llife with the ttragedies we’ve g gone through,” D Dangerfield said. “They were both always around, so to lose them was certainly confronting. It reinforces you to make every moment count.” Talk of making moments count, maturing, growing up and the importance of family – Dangerfield has 38 cousins – belies the fact he is still only 20, but in almost half an hour with the AFL Record, he strikes as someone who hasn’t let football fame affect him. He rarely drinks alcohol (“I just don’t like the taste!”), studies real estate, loves nothing more than getting back home to Moggs Creek to surf or fish, and is looking to buy a house on the beach in Grange in South Australia. Hours after our conversation, Dangerfield sends a text message apologising for not picking up on an incorrect date during the interview, and makes sure

we have the correct one. Now, two-and-a-half years after that press conference before he left for Dubai, Dangerﬁeld admitted to “sometimes having a laugh” about the early implied criticism. You get the feeling the reporters might be doing the same thing.

MILESTONES ROUND 14

AFL 200 Club Daniel Giansiracusa Western Bulldogs Robert Murphy Western Bulldogs

ADELAIDE WILL WEAR CANCER COUNCIL T-SHIRTS IN THE PRE-GAME WARM-UP ON SATURDAY NIGHT. THE T-SHIRTS WILL BE SIGNED AND THEN AUCTIONED ONLINE AT AFC.COM.AU FROM MONDAY TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE CAMPAIGN.

200 games Ryan O’Keefe Sydney Swans Josh Fraser Sydney Swans

COMMUNITY

100 games

Power Cup helps youngsters achieve their goals

Brett Jones West Coast Jared Rivers Melbourne Chris Donlon Umpire

50 games Alwyn Davey Essendon Scott Harding Port Adelaide Luke Farmer Umpire Damien Sully Umpire

C A L LU M T WOMEY

ort Adelaide recently hosted its third annual Aboriginal Power Cup, a program that uses football to encourage Aboriginal secondary school students to further their education. The program also aims to provide participants with a pathway to the workforce. The program culminated with participants playing in a curtain-raiser to the Port Adelaide-Sydney Swans match AAMI Stadium. The previous day, more than 300 indigenous secondary school students met at Port’s home, Alberton Oval, to learn about careers and healthy lifestyle choices, develop skills including leadership and teamwork and take part in football games. Developed in 2008 through a partnership between Port Adelaide, the South Australian Government’s Attorney-General’s department, the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy and the SANFL, the program teaches students to set their own life goals. In his role as an ambassador for youth opportunity, former Port

the bounce

The list includes those not necessarily selected but on the verge of milestones.

Adelaide captain and recent Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee Gavin Wanganeen works with students on setting career goals. “It was great to get the students thinking about their future,” Wanganeen said. “Not all of them can become professional footballers, but they can learn about discipline, healthy living, teamwork and leadership by taking part in a major sporting competition.” Port Adelaide CEO Mark Haysman said the support of Santos in the program has helped the club expand its relationship with the community. “We are 100 per cent committed to building strong communities through local football initiatives. This one is especially important,” he said.

Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson returns via the VFL after a serious hamstring injury in round three. AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 15

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VERBATIM Emma Quayle on writing Nine Lives with Adam Ramanauskas kas � “Before starting to work with wife Belinda there too, they were Adam Ramanauskas on his able to challenge each other’s book, Nine Lives, I wondered memories and help each other whether he was ready to lay talk about difficult things. everything out, to tell his Some nights were more own story. emotional than others; some From afar, ‘Rama’ had always questions were very hard to ask seemed a little guarded and, and sometimes no one seemed understandably, very private to know what to say next, but I’d about the cancer battle he always go home thinking ‘wow’, was fighting. But the best part and realising how little I really about writing a book is that knew about what he had you get the chance to gone through to launch become immersed not one, but three in someone AFL comebacks. Over time, else’s world There are he came to for a while, to so many understand reasons why understand that how they – physically – his story might think, and why Rama should be able to help they think like never have other people they do. been able to AUTHOR EMMA QUAYLE That certainly play again. happened in this Forget the case. We worked on radiation treatment, and the book for more than nine the chemotherapy. Few know months. Most times, I’d go round that since his first operation, to his place for dinner, then we’d in early 2003, he played with switch on the tape recorder and partially paralysed shoulder talk for a few hours. I liked doing muscles and that his lungs were it this way because, with Adam’s operating at half-capacity.

Then there were the mental hurdles. From a distance, Rama did seem very private, but when you understand what it’s like to walk into a chemo ward, and realise you are just like the other people in there, you start to understand why. He never wanted to insult them, in a sense, by promoting himself as someone diﬀerent, someone more important, or more famous. But over time, he came to understand that his story might be able to help other people. It takes a lot of courage to share your deepest thoughts – about your very toughest times – but he did it well.” NINE LIVES: FOOTBALL, CANCER AND GETTING ON WITH LIFE (ADAM RAMANAUSKAS WITH EMMA QUAYLE) IS PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN ($32.95 RRP). EMMA QUAYLE IS A REPORTER FOR THE AGE AND AUTHOR OF THE DRAFT.

COURAGE: Adam

Ramanauskas’ story is an inspirational one.

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16 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

UNDER-18 TITLE HEADED FOR THE BUSH? � Vic Country was on track to win its first title since 2003 after going into the final phase of this year’s NAB AFL Under-18 Championships unbeaten. Vic Country, the only undefeated team in Division One, was set to play pre-carnival favourite South Australia in the final match, at Skilled Stadium on Wednesday. A win by Country would clinch it the title. South Australia and Vic Metro both had mathematical chances of claiming the title; the South Australians needed to beat Country by a large margin, while Vic Metro had to beat Western Australia handsomely while relying on South Australia to defeat Vic Country to give itself a chance. Vic Country’s stellar carnival has been built on the back of excellent individual performances and strong team efforts. These factors were highlighted in last Saturday’s thumping 108-point win over Queensland, with forward Tom Lynch the standout with four goals. Teammate Jayden Pitt booted three. It was Queensland’s second consecutive drubbing, having been handed a 74-point loss by NSW/ACT a week earlier. On the same day the RAMS beat Queensland, Tasmania, thanks largely to Charlie

FOR UPDATES GO TO AFL.COM.AU/U18S TWITTER: @AFL OR #NABAFLU18S

FUTURE STARS: Representatives from the eight sides – from left, Joel Wilkinson (Qld), Steven May (NT), Shaun Atley (Vic Country), Seb Tape (SA), Andrew Gaﬀ (Vic Metro), Reece Conca (WA), Anthony Miles (NSW/ACT) and Josh Green (Tas).

Riewoldt, beat the Northern Territory by 44 points. Riewoldt, brother of Richmond star Jack and cousin of St Kilda captain Nick, was the dominant player on the ground with four goals. Last week, Vic Metro added to Northern Territory’s pain with an 89-point win, while Western Australia warmed up for its ﬁnal round clash with Vic Metro with a 16-point win over NSW/ACT. The ﬁnal round of the championships, originally

scheduled for Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, was played over two days this week, with Queensland playing the Northern Territory and Tasmania facing NSW/ACT at Visy Park on Tuesday, and Vic Metro meeting Western Australia and Vic Country taking on South Australia at Skilled Stadium on Wednesday. THE RESULTS OF THESE GAMES WERE NOT AVAILABLE WHEN THE AFL RECORD WENT TO PRINT. SEE SCOREBOARD PAGES FOR UPDATES. CALLUM TWOMEY

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GAME DEVELOPMENT

International flavour for championships � For the first time, a team representing the South Pacific and a World 18 squad will play at the NAB AFL Under-16 Championships, which start this weekend at Blacktown Olympic Park in western Sydney. Recently retired Hawthorn premiership defender Trent Croad and David Lake are coaching the Pacific Islands team, which features players from Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Tonga, Nauru, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. Former Bombers forward Scott Lucas and triple Brisbane Lions premiership player Mal Michael are helping the team’s development. The World team, coached by former-Sydney Swans premiership forward Michael O’Loughlin, includes representatives from South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Denmark, Lebanon, the United States, Sudan, Iraq, Canada, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, China and Argentina. The South Pacific and World teams took part in a highperformance camp in Melbourne earlier this week before heading to Sydney for the carnival. The finals of the two-division round-robin event will be played in Melbourne on September 24-25.

There’s a fresh new team in the AFL You won’t believe the big names lining up for 3AW in 2010. New recruits Brian Taylor, Tim Lane and Richo will join cult hero Dennis Cometti, Robert Walls and ‘Lethal’ Leigh Matthews. And there are even more names on our team sheet. Like Tony Shaw, Mike Sheahan and footy’s First Lady, Caroline Wilson, just to name a few. With a fresh new team like this, in 2010 Melbourne’s own 3AW is football.

Home team v visitors tonight

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 19

the bounce

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

Asian inﬂuence in Australian football NICK H ATZOGLOU

ustralian Football has always had the capacity to bring people together, with many players of European heritage becoming superstars of the game. Recent events and research by Dr Rob Hess, a lecturer in sport history at Victoria University, reveals Australian Football was once popular (and is again growing in popularity) among Australia’s Asian community, and more broadly through Asia. Dr Hess’ research highlights that from 1892-96, despite racial tensions in the gold rush era, games were played for charity in Ballarat in western Victoria by members of the Chinese community in front of mainly Anglo-Australian crowds of up to 4000 people. Chinese workers also played in charity matches in Melbourne around the end of the 19th century. Complications of the day and the country’s White Australia Policy made it difficult and progress was stifled. We can only imagine the impact on Australian Football if this early involvement of Asian footballers was allowed to flourish. It is not widely known that several players of Chinese heritage have played the game at a high level. The first documented example was Wally Koochew, who played four games for Carlton in 1908 and was a proud member of Victoria’s Chinese community. His life has been documented by Carlton’s historical committee; his father James migrated to Australia from Whampoa (Guangzhou) in 1865, one year after Carlton was formed. NEWS TRACKER

PIONEERS: This photograph of a Young Chinese League team was likely taken at the league club house, which was in

Frank Chinn’s house in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne, later demolished to build Cohen House. From back row (left to right) are Jack Lee Ack, Robert Kwong, Russell Youie, Norman Chong (from Bairnsdale), Oscar Kwong, Len Quon. Middle row: Harold Chin (from Darwin), Frank Chinn, Dennis Quon, Charles Quon (Junior), Geoﬀ Chong, Earl Gooey. Seated: Edward ‘Fongie’ Gooey, Norman Quon, Tom (‘Tommy’) Wing Young, George Dann, Alan Kuramato, Maurice Lee (from Queensland).

COURTESY OF MUSEUM OF CHINESE AUSTRALIAN HISTORY (D. PEEBLES’ PRIVATE COLLECTION).

Wally’s son Leslie was an umpire and awarded life membership of the VFL/AFL Umpires’ Association in 1960. Wally’s other son, also named Wally, was also a renowned footballer, having started with Melbourne’s reserves before being lured to Northcote as the VFA’s youngest playing coach. Les Kewming played at North Melbourne and was full-back for Echuca in the Bendigo Football League in the late 1920s. Kewming was a prodigious kick and won the drop and punt kick contests in a national long-distance kicking competition staged by The Sporting Globe. He was famous for a mighty 73-yard (66m) drop kick (for many years listed in great sporting achievements in Miller’s Guide). From the early 1930s, we saw the establishment in Melbourne of the Young Chinese League, which ﬁelded its own team until the 1980s.

Football matches were played The Young Chinese League at Royal Park and Princes Park. team played Australian Football In a typical season, the Young to promote ties within the Chinese League team would Chinese community and further play 10-18 matches against local its understanding of the broader teams and business houses. Australian community. In 1941, it played against Chinese-Australians’ the Bookmakers participation in Australian and the Past and Football attracted press Present Boxers coverage. An article It is not Association. The Herald in widely known that in1971 The joked the several players of highlight for Young Chinese the players League team’s Chinese heritage was the endsecret weapon have played the of-season trip was that it deﬁed game at a to a country stereotypes by high level town where, on speaking English the Saturday, on-ﬁeld and not the townspeople Chinese. would offer them their Today, with the support hospitality and, on the Sunday, of the AFL’s multicultural they would play the town program and a more football team. embracing environment, Special fund-raising dances many Australians of Asian were held to cover the costs of heritage are participating in the teams’ travels expenses, as Australian Football. well as maintaining a fund for We are seeing more Asian injured players. faces at the footy, which is

Saint Jesse Smith placed on long-term injury list following another ankle injury.

20 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

healthy for the future of our game. We want Australian Football to be reﬂective of Australia today. With more than half of Australia’s migrants coming from non-English speaking countries and projected immigration increasingly set to come from Asia, it is important for the continued prosperity of the game that we embrace these people and make the game attractive to them. In October, we will see the progress of the game in China, culminating in the Kaspersky Shanghai Showdown match between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions in a 15,000-seat stadium as part of the World Expo. There will also be many local Chinese people participating in football programs in and around that event, with a Chinese national team playing in the 2011 Australian Football International Cup. Further progress is being made in the international development of the game, as evidenced by the recent announcement that former Hawthorn, Collingwood and Fitzroy player Tony Woods had been appointed in the new role of AFL international development manager. Woods’ appointment recognises the AFL’s growing international presence and will seek to accelerate the work being

done across development, event and commercial areas for the AFL’s international projects. The appointment is a signiﬁcant strategic one for the game, as he is the ﬁrst person in a dedicated international role. In Victoria, we have witnessed the growth of the Southern Dragons, a team made up predominantly of footballers with Asian cultural backgrounds. They started in 2008 as a one-team club playing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association as the Elgar Park Dragons. The club, through president Tri Thoi, coach Michael Nguyen and many other dedicated football enthusiasts, expanded and now has three teams competing in the Southern Football League. Captain Yuta Kobayashi, an Australian with Japanese heritage, recently hoisted the Tri-Short Trophy on behalf of the triumphant Dragons in a game played annually between friendly rivals, the Southern Dragons and the Sandown Cobras. Great relationships have been built by both clubs through the leadership of Lou Short and Tri Thoi, and the Southern Dragons have made excellent progress in growing the game and engaging the Asian community. NICK HATZOGLOU HEADS THE AFL’S MULTICULTURAL PROGRAM.

SPECIAL VISIT

Taste of AFL for Chinese VP � Xi Jinping, the Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China, was a special guest of AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and Victorian Premier John Brumby at the Carlton-Fremantle match at Etihad Stadium last round. Mr Jinping was in Melbourne for meetings with the Victorian Government. Before the match, Mr Jinping and other guests enjoyed dinner in the AFL boardroom. Fitzpatrick, a Carlton premiership captain,

presented Mr Jinping with a Blues scarf and, during the match, AFL ambassadors, including Chinese-born aspiring football commentator Jamie Pi, were on hand to explain the rules of the game to Mr Jinping and other Chinese dignitaries. Melbourne will play the Brisbane Lions in an exhibition match (the Kaspersky Cup – AFL Shanghai Showdown) in China in October.

,7¶6 )227< :,7+287 7+( 58/(6 For a no holds barred view on everything footy, join Gerard Healy and Dwayne Russell, 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday. Sports Today - only on 3AW 693.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 21

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PLAYERS WE LOVE

Brent Harvey NORTH MELBOURNE

� In this picture, Brent Harvey has just sealed North Melbourne’s round 13 win over Port Adelaide. Seconds earlier, he had gathered a loose ball on the wing and taken off. Sprinting towards goal, Harvey took one bounce before feigning a handpass that left Port’s Jason Davenport grasping at air. At that time, Port had kicked four of the previous five goals to close to within 16 points of the Roos, with five minutes remaining in the game. In such a tense situation, the ball was in the hands of the right man. Running inside the 50m arc, Harvey took another bounce, darted sideways to avoid a Port defender, then clinically converted the goal with a kick across his body. North supporters would have expected nothing less. Harvey’s long-running goals are commonplace. But there’s more to Harvey than his highlights reel. Week in, week out, he is shadowed by the opposition’s best tagger, yet he remains a

proliﬁc ball-winner. Against the Power, Kane Cornes was a constant companion but Harvey racked up 32 possessions. His strong team focus was also apparent. As well as kicking two goals, he set up six for teammates. It is Harvey’s ability to impose himself on games, though, that stands out most. Leading up to his crucial goal against Port, he had seen teammates miss majors that could have helped build an unassailable lead. He would also have been mindful that just weeks earlier, his team had nearly squandered matchwinning leads against Adelaide and Brisbane Lions. Harvey knew what needed to be done. And he wanted the ball in his hands to ensure it got done. That’s the mindset of champions when the game’s in the There’s balance. And been no greater there’s been champion at no greater champion at Arden Street since Arden Street Wayne Carey’s since Wayne departure Carey’s departure in 2002. NICK BOWEN in 2002

ENVIRONMENT

Green Tigers have an eye on the future

R GREEN THUMBS: Tiger stars Matt

White and Ben Cousins did their bit for the environment by planting trees near Punt Road Oval this week.

NEWS TRACKER

ichmond has established a partnership with the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority to support the Landcare project across Victoria. This weekend, the Tigers are helping promote awareness of GippsLandcare and Landcare in Victoria. Players Ben Cousins and Matt White this week did their bit for the cause, planting their own trees near the Tigers’ base at Punt Road Oval. Umpires ofﬁciating in the Tigers-Swans

match the MCG will wear green, and goal umpires will use green ﬂags. GippsLandcare is the brand that represents Landcare across West Gippsland in Victoria’s east. It is responsible for 70 Landcare groups and more than 2000 families working on Landcare projects. A group of farmers near St Arnaud in central Victoria formed Landcare in 1986. Since then, hundreds of groups have been established across Victoria, working to repair, enhance and protect the environment. Members of Landcare groups plant, restore and protect native vegetation; provide habitat for native fauna; reduce the impacts of salinity, erosion and land degradation; remove and control pest plants and animals, and learn to farm in a more sustainable way.

AFL to meet Blues captain Chris Judd to discuss his concerns about Etihad Stadium’s surface.

22 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

ON THE MONEY:

Brent Harvey after his match-sealing goal in round 13.

“We hope that we can help to raise awareness of Landcare in Victoria, leaving our landscape in a better condition for upcoming generations,” Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said. “It is an exciting opportunity to engage and involve a lot more people, through the reach of the Tigers and the AFL,” West Gippsland Catchment Authority CEO Geoff Hocking said. “Landcare is about communities achieving good outcomes for sustainable landscapes, healthy waterways and connected communities. “Having Richmond help raise the proﬁle of our region’s GippsLandcare brand will promote much wider awareness that we all have an obligation to help ensure a sustainable and healthy future for all.” TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LANDCARE, INCLUDING HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER, GO TO LANDCAREVIC.NET.AU.

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HUN0197B

DA R R E N J O L LY

At home in his The transformation of Darren Jolly from a Swan to a Magpie is almost complete if the ruckman’s impressive display against his former club last week is any indication. PETER RYA N

he expectations surrounding recruit Darren Jolly were much higher than his 200cm when he arrived at Collingwood from the Sydney Swans in exchange for picks 14 and 46. He was big, durable and consistent. He was a leader. Could he deliver? By the time he arrived back from the Pies’ training camp in Arizona in early December, he felt at home at Collingwood. By Christmas, he had been added to the club’s leadership group, bringing fresh ideas and a wealth of experience from the well-regarded Swans system. He kicked a nine-pointer in the first NAB Cup game. By round one, he was ready to add to his 113 consecutive games, including the 2005 premiership, with the Swans. Jolly is the first to admit he took a while to understand and fit into Collingwood’s gameplan, but the Magpies were prepared to be patient. Midfield coach Mark Neeld was an asset in that process, his no-fuss style suiting Jolly. “He gets the message across really well,” Jolly said. “He keeps it short and sharp and he’s been really valuable with his knowledge and guidance as to what (coach) Mick (Malthouse) wants, and he really listens to

the players and their ideas.” his most recent former club. Throughout the short “I was excited to play up there re-education process, Jolly and I just wanted to play really took heart from the fact he had well.” The timing was perfect. The delivered with Sydney. week’s break had come at a good time. He’d left Melbourne, ignored “‘Roosy’ (Swans coach Paul Roos) really made me realise football for the weekend and how to be consistent,” said Jolly, returned to training raring to go. who played 46 games with He was to ruck solo (with Melbourne and 118 with Sydney. support from Leigh Brown and Travis Cloke), something he’d “Not everyone is going to play at a nine or a 10 (out of 10) done plenty of times while each week, so the biggest wearing the Swans’ colours. He thing for me (while now knew the Magpies’ at Sydney) was approach backwards. to close the gap His focus was clear I was between the when the moment good games arrived. “I was there to do and the bad there to do a job a job and win games. I was and win and and hopefully able to do that hopefully play and hopefully well,” he said. play well DARREN JOLLY I will continue He achieved all to do that.” three objectives. He had 17 possessions, Slowly but surely the pieces kicked a steadying goal are falling into place for the near three-quarter time and was 28-year-old who left behind a rated among Collingwood’s best. joinery apprenticeship in The big grin on his face at g Ballarat in 2001 to join ame’s end, while becoming Melbourne as a rookie. He spent familiar to Magpie fans, four seasons with the Demons. revealed his satisfaction. Last Saturday night, as the When Jolly speaks of the spotlight shone directly on team and how the season him, Jolly carried his footy bag is panning out, he could be into familiar surroundings. speaking for his family too, For reasons unknown to him, his wife Deanne and two Collingwood had been allocated daughters, Scarlett and Lily, the Swans’ old change rooms at entrenched in Melbourne ANZ Stadium to warm up. and surrounded by family: “We’re happy with the position “I was excited,” Jolly said about the prospect of meeting we are in.”

B L AC K A N D W H I T E … A N D G R E E N

� Jolly might be verging on veteran status but he is green enough to become a key part of the Green Magpies, a free program designed to help small and medium-sized businesses reduce their carbon footprint via information, advice and incentives on practical

actions taken to operate more environmentally eﬃciently. In promoting the program, Jolly will assist ex-Collingwood defender Shane Wakelin, the Green Magpies ambassador. “I’m helping out by going to some forums and talking to companies about better ways

to save energy and nd d k diﬀerent ways to think about making practical changes nges ng ge in the workplace to reduce the carbon footprint,” he said. THIS WEEKEND’S MATCH AGAINST WEST COAST IS DEDICATED TO PROMOTING THE GREEN MAGPIES, A JOINT INITIATIVE BETWEEN COLLINGWOOD, THE VICTORIAN EMPLOYERS’ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AND THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 57

TRENT COTCHIN

After a horror start to the season, ason, Richmond has wiped the slate late clean, winning three of its pastt four matches and tackling the future with conﬁdence. And leading the way is Trent Cotchin, a precocious 20-year-old who has the football world at his feet. ASHLEY BROW NE

o here we are. Round eight this year at the MCG and it’s Richmond versus Hawthorn. And it’s close. Too close, in fact, for the Hawks when you consider that not only are the Tigers winless, but they are supposedly good things to become the ﬁrst team since Fitzroy in 1964 not to win a game all season. It’s the ﬁnal quarter. Hawthorn needs one more

goal to put the game away for keeps, but as good as its midﬁeld is, it’s getting killed at the stoppages. And the player stopping the likes of Sam Mitchell, Brad Sewell and Shaun Burgoyne getting ﬁrst use of the ball is Trent Cotchin. The 20-year-old plays an enormous last quarter for the brave Tigers, who could have won the game had Shane Tuck not been tackled by Mitchell just as he was winding up to kick

SKY’S THE LIMIT: Trent Cotchin takes a spectacular mark over Carlton’s Marc Murphy in round one. PHOTOS: MICHAEL WILLSON/AFL PHOTOS

AFL RECORD visit aďŹ&#x201A;record.com.au 59

TRENT COTCHIN what would likely have been the winning goal. The Hawks won by three points, but the moral victory belonged to Richmond, and the talk of the match was Cotchin, with his 27 touches and 11 clearances. Since being selected by the Tigers with the No. 2 pick at the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, Cotchin has given Tiger fans glimpses of how good he could be. That afternoon against the Hawks, many among the 40,000 people who left the MCG were asking the same question, “How good is Cotchin?” For both Richmond and Cotchin, the Hawthorn game was the most important of the season. Never mind there have been three wins since, each impressive in their own way. The Hawthorn game demonstrated TURNING POINT: Trent

Cotchin believes the improved eﬀort against Hawthorn in round eight gave the Tigers new-found belief.

to the club it was on the right track under ﬁrst-year coach Damien Hardwick, and to Cotchin that he had the makings of an elite midﬁelder. “It was our turning point,” Cotchin said last week, as he prepared for a welcome few days away from Tigerland as part of the club’s split round bye weekend. “We played to our own structures and played for four quarters. “That was important for us and, even though it was disappointing to go down, we sat down as a group with the coaching staff and pretty much said that our season was starting.” Vision from that afternoon shows Hardwick addressing his players intently before they t left the ground. In subsequent interviews, Hardwick Hardwicc has admitted the sl a slate was wiped clean after afft that match and that, th ha in effect, the Tigers’ Tigerr season was starting g again. That being thee case, to stretch the point, poiin the Tigers are 3-2 and an a among the form teams of the competition. “It was myy best game,” Cotchin said d of the Hawthor r Hawthorn

match. “And the most complete. com mp I’d had a few good halves but bu u I played that game at a stand d standard and that’s the standard I’m setting seet for myself. Until I get to that level on a consistent basis, I won’t be happy.” h It has taken Cotchin until his third year before giving hims se himself the chance to take a game on n and really dominate. He managed managed 15 games on debut in 2008 and 1 10 last season, but those campaigns campaig

TRENT COTCHIN ON HIS MIDFIELD COMRADES

lyy came on the back of severely restricted pre-seasons. His ailments have included a eforee broken foot in the season before he was drafted, two achilles injuries and a hip complaint. He entered this season having done far more work than in past summers, but still took part in only about 75 per cent of the work. “Obviously, I’m looking forward to the next pre-season,” he said. “I’m the fittest I’ve ever been, but the best thing for me is that I know the next level I need to go to, which is what you need in the AFL when you’re competing against Chris Judd, Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel and others.” What this season has demonstrated to Cotchin is that he has the game to become one of the better midfielders in the AFL. “I think it’s been OK. It’s just nice to be getting consistent games under my belt. I’ve got full confidence in my body, which is a nice thing to have,” he said. “Mentally, footy is a tough game, so I think the wins have helped me enormously, because it gives us faith that we’re going in the right direction.” Cotchin is not the type to offer bulletin board material for a coming opponent. Not for him are any grand proclamations about his place in the game, now or in the future. But speak to him for just a few minutes and you get a sense of quiet determination and the knowledge of what he and his team needs to do to get to the next level, a sure sign of the growing confidence and maturity around Punt Road. “As a team, it’s been great to have had some success over the last few weeks. There’s nothing more exciting about having that win and feeling like you’ve achieved something,” he said. “The chips were down earlier in the season and there’s nothing better than having a few wins and have the belief going our way.” Each of Richmond’s three wins had something special about it. The first came in the slop at AAMI Stadium, where the Tigers were just too hard at the ball and the player for a struggling Port Adelaide. “The conditions made it even nicer,” Cotchin said. “We slugged

Dustin Martin:

“Has alread already shown how strong he is and how he loves a contest. We have to get the ball into his hands as often as we can because he can hurt the opposition. He’s still learning the game and still has a lot of development in him, so that’s the most exciting thing.” Nathan Foley: “He’s a very exciting player. There’s no more professional player than Nathan and, once he gets his body right, he is another player for the opposition to worry about because of his really good speed.” Shane Tuck: “We lack a bit of size in there because we’re young, so it’s great to have a big body in there. ‘Tucky’ gives 100 per cent every time, gets ﬁrst to the footy and gives us ﬁrst use.” Ben Cousins: “He’s been

terrific with the knowledge and professionalism he brings on and off the field. You can tell in the group that whenever he speaks, it’s all ears, including the coaches. He’s been through a bit, but it’s great that he has turned his career around and he’s playing some pretty good footy this year.”

Shane Edwards: “He’s going

to become one of the best players at the club. He’s a high-quality midﬁelder, very composed and is able to get himself out of trouble a lot.”

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TRENT COTCHIN it out for the whole game and, while we weren’t able to play to our game style, it was really good to get the monkey off the back as they say. “And going by the reports in the media, nobody has seen a club song sung with as much passion as we did it, so it was great to be able to achieve something as a really young group.” A fortnight later came the hammering of West Coast at the MCG. The biggest handicap for the Tigers that week may have been themselves, given it was the first time in the Hardwick era that they entered a match as favourites. “A four-quarter continuous effort and making sure everyone played their role was the key for us winning that match,” was Cotchin’s straight-forward assessment. But the win at the Gabba a fortnight ago against the Brisbane Lions was a different match yet again. “The two other wins were good, decent wins (and) we didn’t need to worry in the final quarter because the games were safe. So it was nice against Brisbane to have a battle on our hands, and the way we fought through it was great.” Jack Riewoldt has been the talk of Richmond for the past month and his 10-goal haul against the Eagles in round 12 vaulted him to the lead for the Coleman Medal. But the key to the Tigers’ improvement has come from their midfield, which appears to have the key characteristics of pace, skill and strength.

FACT FILE

Trent Cotchin

Born: April 7, 1990 Recruited from: PEGS/Northern U18 Debut: Round 8, 2008, v Geelong Height: 185cm Weight: 85kg Games: 37 Goals: 12 Player honours: NAB AFL Rising Star nomination 2008 Brownlow Medal: Career votes 3

Cotchin loves being part of the engine room. Dustin Martin’s ﬁrst season has him excited, Nathan Foley’s return from injury has injected further class (although he did miss last round), Shane Edwards is the surprise packet, while old heads Ben Cousins and Shane Tuck are

helping keep the themes are I just have full group level-headed constant, and focused. faith in where whether Watching from the team is we’re going as the sidelines are coming off a club and as midfield coaches a belting or a team Wayne Campbell a win. TRENT COTCHIN and Brendon Lade, “That’s and Cotchin is a fan the greatest of what the pair is thing about him,” helping build. Cotchin said. “He “‘Ladey’ plans a lot of the hasn’t changed his way; he’s moves at stoppages, telling us stuck by the game-plan and his how to find the body and remove message was that it will always the opponent so you guard the work if we play four quarters. dangerous space,” Cotchin said. Now that it’s starting to work, “He’s only just retired, so he who knows what’s to come in the knows what’s going on. How we future?” structure and set up at stoppages Cotchin does allow himself comes from both of them. to dream just that little bit. The “They have both played a MCG erupted after the win over lot of footy and they know, if West Coast, with more than something’s not working, they’ll 30,000 Tiger fans making the look at what can change and noise of double that number. what can be done differently. Committed to Richmond until at “It’s all about us believing in least the end of 2013, he believes them and them believing in us.” there will be no better place to Cotchin enjoyed his time be once, as is starting to become under coach Terry Wallace and apparent, the sleeping giant (caretaker) Jade Rawlings, but awakens from its slumber. believes the Tigers have found a “It’s very exciting and that’s special coach in Hardwick. the reason I signed on,” he “I know a lot of guys say he is said. “I just have full faith in straight down the line and goes where we’re going as a club and about it in the same way he did as a team. If we can keep the as a player, but he’s a terrific young blokes together and start bloke,” he said. building a team that has played a “He’s more than willing to lot of football together, it’s going get you into his office and have to be very exciting for all of us. a chat about how you’re going “I just believe we have the and even just to have a joke. He right mix. The coaching staff likes a gag and it’s nice to have a gets on very well, they’re always coach who’s easygoing but also open to discussion and learning firm and down the line when the news things and we have perfect going gets tough.” people in the administration. It’s The word from Punt Road a club full of good people and it’s is that Hardwick’s approach all coming together.” doesn’t change from week to ASHLEY BROWNE IS EDITOR OF BACKPAGELEAD.COM.AU week. The key messages and key

SHARING A MATE’S PAIN � Trent Cotchin is living the dream, playing footy with a bunch of mates. He has already enjoyed one match as acting captain (against Melbourne in round four) and would love the honour in a full-time capacity later in his career. An aspiring property developer, he is also the proud owner of a new home in Melbourne’s inner north-west, which he was happy to show oﬀ on national

62 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

television during a broadcast of the recent Richmond-St Kilda Friday night clash. Yet, if he wasn’t aware how the game can bring you crashing back to earth, he found out a fortnight ago when his closest friend, Carlton big man Matthew Kreuzer, tore the ACL in his right knee and was ruled out for the next 12 months. Cotchin was there to see Kreuzer when he was taken to

hospital and was there again when he came out of surgery. “You don’t want that to happen to any AFL player, let alone your best mate,” he said. “He’s in pretty good spirits. No one can truly get the big ‘Kreuz’ down, but he is frustrated. “He’ll be so professional in his recovery and has such a strong character that he’ll make an excellent recovery.”

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A NEW FORM OF COMMUNICATION

By using social media, players are creating new space The rise in social media is bringing clubs, players and fans closer together. PETER RYA N

t was the last thing I expected. Sitting at home, ﬂicking around the internet, scanning Facebook and, bang, out of nowhere, an AFL club’s selection secret appeared on the screen in front of me. A friend, the relative of an AFL player, connected to our Facebook page, had sent the player a message congratulating him on his selection for what would be his debut match. The person’s privacy settings were adjusted so we (and whoever else was connected to this person) could see the message on our Facebook wall. The selection decision had not yet been made public. Suddenly, six degrees of separation had become one. The type of information that can tempt opposition scouts to go to all lengths to secure (including posing as a construction worker) was in my possession, and I had hardly moved a muscle to get it. On receiving the information I immediately did ... nothing. I merely wondered about the way information that otherwise would only get to most people when made public was widely accessible now well before it was supposed to be. This was not a new event, but a growing issue. There was the famous example of Australian Test cricket opener Phillip Hughes notifying the

64 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

world via Twitter he had been dropped from the team on the eve of the second match of the 2009 Ashes series with the words, “Disappointed not to be on the field with the lads today”. Then, Sydney Swan Gary Rohan had to be gently reminded by the club to be more careful after he announced to the world on Facebook he was making his debut in round seven against Geelong, before the news had officially been made public. His coach Paul Roos joked that every player had one chance (he called it a “mulligan”) and Rohan had used his before he’d even played a senior game. It’s not just selection revelations making social media a new front in the media landscape, posing threats and opportunities for athletes who participate in this space. Increasingly, comments made on people’s Twitter accounts are being used in news reports as a quote to support a story. Journalists are also using Twitter to provide running commentary about a range of issues during the week, bouncing opinions around the space. AFL clubs have only this season properly understood the capacity and influence of social media, and the need to effectively manage the digital space. Last year, many officials were caught flat-footed;

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+ CONNECTING:

Essendon’s Angus Monfries believes fans can get to know players better by following them on Twitter.

they were non-users who weren’t really aware of what was happening in cyberspace, or more accurately, how to deal with the risk it carried for players, and more broadly, the clubs. Many shared the same view Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade expressed, in a good natured manner it must be said, during an AFL Record discussion before round one: “Why players would get on things like Facebook has got me stumped. A friend of a friend puts a photo on there and you’re linked to something and mud sticks. I’m

an old man, but why do it?” Eade was more concerned about personal reputation than performance issues, but the message was the same: if he had his way, players would stay away from social networking in cyberspace. There is a simple reason, however, why a growing number in the industry don’t share Eade’s view. Players use Facebook for the same reasons as everyone else: to stay connected to friends and family in a way that is convenient and easy; they use Twitter to communicate with the public.

Essendon player Angus Monfries is pretty sure most players would have a Facebook account. “A lot of my mates are travelling overseas and it is a good way to keep in contact with them and see how they are going over there,” Monfries says. The clubs soon recognised social media was an issue they had to address. The Herald Sun reported in February that some clubs had called in Susan McLean, a former policewoman and an expert in the area, to explain to players the risks attached to social media, and the possible dangers for high-proﬁle users. The AFL Players’ Association has in recent months been running education sessions at all clubs for players to ensure they are aware how to use social media in a way that minimises the potential threat it represents to their privacy. “Our view is that, as long as players know how to protect themselves through privacy settings and good judgment, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to use it to stay connected with their friends,” the AFLPA’s public affairs manager Ben Hart says. “In our experience, players are, for the most part, showing great care and responsibility when using social media.” Monfries is well aware of the pitfalls. “You just need to be careful what you post on it (Facebook) and make sure your privacy settings are pretty high and be careful about whom you accept as your friends,” he says. He understands that anything he posts has the potential to reach a wider audience, so he remains measured when interacting in the space. The clubs have remained relatively relaxed about the developments, knowing that trusting players to act responsibly is inherent in their relationship with them. Melbourne CEO Cameron Schwab, a savvy user of social media, sees no cause for massive concern. “They will work it out,” he says. “We’re equipping our

STAY AWAY: Bulldogs coach

Rodney Eade sees dangers in social networking.

players better than we ever have to make good choices and good decisions, but there are no guarantees in relation to that. All we can do is give them the opportunities and educate them as to what the pitfalls are.” In January, Manchester United banned its players from having Facebook proﬁles, but the AFLPA does not see that as the best way to manage the situation. “Clearly, in terms of the dangers, the safest thing for players to do is to not go on Facebook and Twitter,” Hart says. “However, we also think that it is unfair to expect people to remove themselves from these sites, especially when it has become a major part of the way their friends communicate.” Facebook, says Schwab, is an issue for football clubs in

the same way it is an issue for the rest of society. Handle with care. But “Twitter is a different thing to Facebook,” he says. Twitter is the way real communication between players and fans is happening. At last count, about a dozen AFL players (plus high-proﬁle ﬁgures such as Schwab) were making regular Twitter updates to communicate to supporters. Schwab has encouraged the club and its players to take an open approach in using this medium, with four listed Demons twittering. “There are obviously some risks associated with it, but the risks are such that it is in the judgment of the person who is managing the communications,” he says. “We’ll put players on national

Chat We’ll put players on national television, so why would you not feel comfortable about them managing their own communication? MELBOURNE CEO CAMERON SCHWAB

television, so why would you not feel comfortable about them managing their own communication?” Schwab concedes, however, that Twitter’s simplicity is both its greatest advantage and its biggest danger. As much as a comment can be posted without much effort, it can also, if a user is not careful, be made without much thought, such is the pace and directness of the communication. Schwab predicts, however, Twitter will eventually become a great tool to cut misinformation off at the knees. “If there is a rumour going around or something being said which is gaining some momentum, you can cut it off in 140 characters (a message posted on Twitter),” he says. “Because the message is coming straight from you, I think sometimes that can mean a whole lot more than a carefully crafted media release.” Some players are obviously more comfortable communicating in such a way than others. Monfries, who has 3917 followers at last count, said twittering allows him to engage on a different level with fans. “It shows a different side to us, (other than) being robots and running out and playing footy every week. People feel like they might get to know us a bit better if they follow us on Twitter,” he says. Fans, says Monfries, are most interested in non-footy matters so the dilemma he, like all on Twitter, must resolve is more about how much of his personality he wants to reveal through the medium, rather than the prospect of revealing in-house information. “Obviously, you have to monitor what you say as you are representing the footy club, and be careful yourself about what you post. You’ve just got to be smart with it and have fun with it as well,” he says. Players are still bound by AFL regulations when it comes to communication via Twitter.

Chat (5) AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 65

A NEW FORM OF COMMUNICATION

Photos Comments about A fan of umpiring are not international allowed in any sport, he also form, while the recognised the rules relating to trends emerging match review panel in other countries and tribunal matters would soon be a ensure comments on feature of the AFL. CAMERON these are off limits. “There are not many Players are not allowed SCHWAB people in the AFL who use it to communicate using social as I do,” O’Brien says, “but if you media or phones for a period just look to trends in sport and of 90 minutes before a match look to the States and Europe, as part of the AFL’s integrity then you will see they use it regulations. This is common heavily and effectively. So I in professional sport. thought, ‘Why not?’” Last September, the Most clubs are paranoid National Football League about information, but in the United States banned Schwab has been around its players from certain long enough to know that communication, stating control is not always the that the use of “cell phones, answer. In fact, controlled PDAs and other electronic chaos is more likely to reign. communication devices “You do try to control the (and thus accessing social information ﬂow as far as it media sites such as Facebook affects and impacts you at a and Twitter) was now performance level, but we’re prohibited during games for also quite realistic about that players, coaches and other too,” he says. “How long has the team personnel involved in saying been around that there the game.” are no secrets in football? There Collingwood’s Harry probably still are, but if the O’Brien is receiving plaudits media don’t ﬁnd out something for his unique and adventurous now with 700-800 people postings on Twitter and on his writing about and commenting personal blog, Harry’s World. on the game, then that is more Initially, he thought Facebook because of good luck rather and Twitter were more about than because anyone’s been hype than substance. Then necessarily great at it.” he took a step back and saw The AFLPA is clearly the possibilities. supportive. “A number of

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players such as Harry O’Brien are using it really effectively as a way to directly communicate with their fans,” Hart says. “We think that when this is done well, it can be a great tool for players to build a ‘brand’ and take control of how they are viewed in the community.” It is true. Some of the most interesting snapshots for people without regular access to inner sanctum spaces this season have come via twitpics (pictures taken inside the rooms, for example) and twitvid (scenes from the Melbourne rooms moments after the round 12 draw with Collingwood, for example), while Twitter postings give an insight into a player’s personality. Most clubs manage their own Twitter accounts, regularly supplying supporters with information. However, everyone is watching the space closely, as even Schwab knows it’s a work in progress. “While we employ a lot of risktaking individuals, I think they are quite risk-averse when it comes to their communication,” he says. “Clearly, there are some who aren’t. We have not uncovered one of those at this stage. It might be that you end up in a situation where it might be difﬁcult.”

FACEBOOK Facebook is a social networking vehicle that allows users to connect with ‘friends’ who can then see users’ personal information and relay messages, including images, to each other. You can set Facebook pages up with privacy settings to limit those who can see the personal information.

TWITTER Twitter is a microblogging service that allows users to send and read messages known as tweets. These tweets are limited to 140 characters but users can link to photos (Twitpics) and short videos (Twitvids). Once you have set up a Twitter account, you can follow people’s twittering.

Some popular AFL tweeters ANGUS MONFRIES (ESSENDON)

@AngusMonfries ANDREW SWALLOW (NORTH MELBOURNE)

@andrewswallow JOBE WATSON (ESSENDON)

@JobeWatson NATHAN JONES (MELBOURNE)

@Nathan2Jones HARRY O’BRIEN (COLLINGWOOD)

@harry_o BRAD JOHNSON GS) (WESTERN BULLDOGS)

@BradJohnson6

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66 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

Moments of the

Blues’ darkest days

Carlton, traditionally one of the most powerful and successful clubs in the game, hit rock bottom in the 2000s. ASHLEY BROW NE

t is a story Carlton ofﬁcials would never quite admit to, but is said to be true and amusing all the same. Following a game between St Kilda and Fremantle at Optus Oval (now Visy Park), maintenance and cleaning staff found wooden spoons all over the place – in bathrooms, food outlets, underneath seats and in the walkways. There may have been only about 8000 (mostly Saints) fans in attendance, but this was WHITE KNIGHT: Longtime benefactor Richard Pratt, pictured with former champion forward Brendan Fevola, helped resurrect the club when he took over as president in 2007.

68 A 68 AF AFL FL RECORD FL RE REC R EC CO COR ORD D visit vvis vi is isiitt aﬂ aﬂrecord.com.au rec eco ec ecor orrrd ord d..co .cco c om m.a .a .au

2000-09

their payback for then-Blues president John Elliott labelling their club “tragic”. Carlton was on its way to the first wooden spoon in club history and it wasn’t just St Kilda types who were rejoicing. Powerful on the field, rich off it and with a propensity for letting the rest of the football world know about it, there was little sympathy for the Blues come the end of 2002, when they finished with just three wins, two-a-half games behind the second-bottom Saints. It was a poor end to Elliott’s 21-year reign as president which, while landing four premierships, ended with the club on the bottom of the ladder, carrying massive debts and about to be hit hard by the AFL for salary cap breaches. Following on from breaches in 2001, an AFL investigation in October of 2002 concluded Carlton had been engaging in “systematic rorting” of the salary cap for four years. The Blues were fined a record $987,500 and were barred from the first two rounds of

BATTERED BLUES: Carlton was

at its lowest ebb in 2006, on and off the field, and suffered several drubbings, including this 65-point defeat by Geelong in round 14 at Docklands Stadium.

the national draft for the next two years. Moreover, they were banned from utilising the priority draft picks they had qualified for. It was a massive whack and a major blow to a club that – contrary to Elliott’s oft-stated mantra – had finally determined it needed to rebuild. By now, Elliott was no longer in charge, having resigned at the end of 2002 when it became clear he would have been swept p out of office at the annual general general meeting. meet last major act as Elliott’s last president wa as to app was appoint Denis Pagan as coach. coa ach. The dual North Melbourne p premiers premiership coach crossed from m Arden Street to replace Wayne Wayn ne Brittain, Britta but the salary cap sc candal robbed ro scandal him oppo ortunity tto properly of any opportunity rebuil ld the squad. squ rebuild IInstead of o having th he chanc the chance to grab Brendon Goddard B (ironical (ironically, a diehard Carlton supporte supporter) and Daniel W Wells with the first ttwo picks at the 200 a 2002 draft, Pagan and the Blues P watched forlornly w fo as the pair headed to S St Kilda and a North Mel lbourne rrespectively. Melbourne Theyy have fo forged fine care ers at those tho clubs. careers Paga an lifted Carlton C Pagan to

15th in his first season and 11th the following year. But unable to select from the first two rounds of the draft, the Blues chased a series a fringe players from other clubs in order to create some playing depth. Among those were Heath Scotland (Collingwood), Jason Saddington (Sydney Swans), Brett Johnson and Daniel Harford (Hawthorn), David Clarke (Geelong) and Barnaby French (Port Adelaide). It proved to be a false dawn and in 2005 the Blues crashed to the bottom of the ladder, a sad end to a year in which they played their final home game at the Carlton ground. By 2006, the Blues were at their lowest ebb. The draft ban was over, but its impact left a list full of battlers but bereft of stars, save for the enigmatic Brendan Fevola. The club was millions of dollars in debt and its training facilities, once the envy of many, were among the worst in the League. Enter Richard Pratt. The billionaire cardboard and packaging king was once a Carlton under-19s player, who in 1953 won the Morrish Medal for the best player in the VFL’s under-19 competition. He was a board member during part of Elliott’s time as president and a longtime financial benefactor of the

The club was of dollars in debt and its training facilities were among the worst in the League

club. The old Hawthorn Stand at Carlton had been renamed in his honour. In early 2007, he was announced as the new club president, replacing Graham Smorgon. Pratt brought vision and hope and yes, it

must be said, some cash. He underwrote much-needed short-term improvements to the club’s administrative and training facilities. Overseesing the reconstruction of the club on a daily basis was CEO Greg Swann, who Pratt dug deep to lure away from Collingwood, where he was Eddie McGuire’s chief lieutenant. The biggest coup of all came at the end of 2007 when West Coast superstar Chris Judd announced he was returning home to Victoria. After being courted by several clubs, Judd chose the Blues. Just like the old days, when the best players from outside Victoria found their way to Royal Parade, Carlton had again landed the big one, and their fans were strutting once more. ASHLEY BROWNE IS EDITOR OF BACKPAGELEAD.COM.AU

T H E A F T E R M AT H

� Carlton is a club that has returned to a clean bill of health. The succession of low wed the club finishes allowed to have the first selection at the NAB AFL Draft for three years in succession, and in Marc Murphy, Bryce atthew w Kreuzer Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer, ave chosen cho hosen the Blues have ly well l. exceptionally well. ris Judd The trade for Ch Chris he icing icing on the (right) was the d a patc chy first cake. He had patchy ecovereed year as he recovered ll from injury, but sti still won the bestt and fairest. His second year with thee club ding, was outstanding, han with more than ses a few glimpses of the form that won him the low 2004 Brownlow Medal while at West Coast. tt Ratten, Ratteen, who Under Brett nis Pagan Paga an midway replaced Denis 7, the Blues B made through 2007, st year for f the first the finals last 001 and, and d, although time since 2001 st their past two they have lost

matches, are showing every sign they will return to September action again this season. The club’s club s balance sheet is its healthiest in years, membership is well up and the Blues recently moved into a swish, new administrative and training facility at the western end off Vi Vis ark k, llocat ted d Visyy P Park, located where the Heatley and George Harris stands used to be.

AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au 69

Col Hutchinson

timeon Our AFL history guru answers your queries.

AFL mystery men SHOOTING STAR: Champion

Essendon forward John Coleman kicked 537 goals in just 98 games before being cut down in his prime by a serious knee injury.

Charles Henry Fehring � Fehring was born on March 21, 1899, and represented Surreys in metropolitan Melbourne before making 25 senior appearances for Richmond and Essendon in a career which began in 1917 and ended in 1921. He was leading goalscorer for the Tigers in his ﬁrst year. His brother, Arthur also played for Richmond. Allison Razey McCrorey � Known as Alan, the Irishborn McCrorey began his football career with Carnegie before joining Richmond for ﬁve matches in 1938. He also represented Carlton Brewery and Oakleigh before playing four games for St Kilda between 1941 and 1943. He died about 1989, aged in his early 70s.

Which Legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame has played the fewest games? D. ERSKINE, PAKENHAM, VIC

CH: Eight of the 23 Legends

played fewer than 200 matches at the elite level, but all but one of them reached the double century when games in the SANFL, WAFL or at senior level in Tasmania are taken into account. The champion with the briefest

70 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

career was star full-forward John Coleman, who kicked 537 goals in 98 appearances in a brilliant career for Essendon. As a 20-year-old, he booted 12 majors on debut in 1949. His playing days were suddenly ended in round eight, 1954, when he sustained a serious knee injury. Many who watched him in action regard him as the greatest player they have seen.

Should you have any further information regarding the above Mystery Men, including their date of death, contact Col Hutchinson on (03) 9643 1929 or col.hutchinson@aﬂ .com.au.

WRITE TO ANSWER MAN The Slattery Media Group, 140 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, 3008 or email michaell@slatterymedia.com

NAME GAME

Landed gentry

� The drafting of the Brisbane Lions’ Callum Bartlett revived memories of one of the greats of AFL/VFL, Kevin Bartlett. Bartlett is a diminutive form of the medieval given name Bartholomew. Bartholomew derives from the Aramaic bar-Talmay (“son of Talmay”). Talmay was a given name meaning “having many furrows” – that is, owning a lot of land. The surname of Melbourne’s Matthew Bate is also a diminutive form of Bartholomew, as, strangely, is the surname of his teammate John Meesen, a Dutch or Flemish diminutive (full form Bartolomeusen); and at Geelong there is a Germanic diminutive of Batholomew in the surname of Jimmy Bartel. An Irish version of Bartholomew is Mac Phartalan which appears on League lists (in a variation form) in the surname of Fremantle’s Luke McPharlin; and dual Carlton premiership player Mario Bortolotto’s surname is a patronymic (“son of Bartholomew”). KEVAN CARROLL

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COLLECTABLES

Festive season

Rick Milne

A weekly look at collectables, memorabilia and all footy things stored in boxes and garages.

RICK’S RARITY

I have a 1942 Christmas card from the Richmond Football Club, handed down from my grandfather. It has an unusual Tiger logo on the front and is in quite good condition. Value? PETER, VIA EMAIL, MALVERN, VIC.

RM: This is a rare item and I

doubt if there are any others around. I value it at $350.

I have a match-day program from a WA-SA clash at Subiaco Oval in 1949. It cost sixpence (ﬁve cents) at the time, but I would like to know its current value. It is in good condition and unmarked. TREVOR HOLFORD, VIA EMAIL, WA

RM: You have a good item and it

is worth at least $200 as there would be plenty of collectors wanting to buy it.

SEASON’S GREETINGS:

This rare 1942 Richmond Christmas card is valued at $350.

I have a 1966 WEG Collingwood premiership poster. Of course, St Kilda defeated Collingwood by one point in the Grand Final that year, so this must have been one that was printed in case of a Magpie win. Any value?

never seen a 1966 Collingwood one. If you have the real thing, you would be looking at thousands of dollars.

MATT LANZIE, VIA EMAIL

RM: The Herald posters featuring the winning team were sold immediately after the game and those of the losing team generally were destroyed. However, a few seem to have survived and I have

I have 30 original football cards from the late 19th century. Some pre-date the VFL’s ﬁrst season of 1897 and include Port Melbourne and Williamstown players, as well as those from the eight original VFL clubs. The cards were produced by

Capstan Cigarettes and their condition is fair. Value? PETER BAUMGARTNER, VIA EMAIL

� Times were tough in Australia in the 1920s and one of the few escapes from reality was following your favourite football team. Companies issued free swap cards to attract customers and one series in particular was unusual. It featured many now little-known players such as Herbert Sutton, who was Hawthorn captain-coach in 1928 after playing 49 games with South Melbourne. The cards had a tag at the bottom and the idea was to cut these oﬀ each of the 60 cards in the series to win an “acceptable gift”. The cards were issued at groceries and butcher shops. They are very elusive and sell for $20 each.

RM: These cards were issued in

the 1930s in a series titled “Past and Present Champions”. They are printed on poor qualify card and are difﬁcult to ﬁnd in perfect condition. If so, they are worth $50 each, but only $20 each in the condition you describe.

CONTACT RICK MILNE mrpp@iprimus.com.au or drop him a line: 5 Cooraminta St, Brunswick, Vic, 3056 or call (03) 9387 4131. One query per reader.

WATCH BEFORE THE GAME SATURDAY NIGHTS ON TEN

beforethegame.com.au L ADDER SAM 65 DAVE

ANDY

LEHMO

FITZY

MICK

TIPSTERS

FITZY Carlton Hawthorn Fremantle Collingwood Adelaide Geelong Cats Sydney Swans St Kilda

72 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

MICK Carlton Western Bulldogs Fremantle Collingwood Essendon Geelong Cats Richmond St Kilda

SAM Carlton Western Bulldogs Fremantle Collingwood Essendon Geelong Cats Sydney Swans St Kilda

DAVE Carlton Western Bulldogs Fremantle Collingwood Essendon Geelong Cats Sydney Swans St Kilda

LEHMO Carlton Hawthorn Fremantle Collingwood Essendon Geelong Cats Sydney Swans St Kilda

ANDY Carlton Hawthorn Fremantle Collingwood Essendon Geelong Cats Sydney Swans St Kilda

This week, special guest appearance by RODNEY EADE

Kids are built pretty tough. But not as tough as they think. So weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve created a range of super soft footballs designed especially for littlies. Because the only place in football for tears is after a narrow loss in a Grand Final. For your nearest stockist call 1300 367 582 or go to sherrin.com.au.

timeon

KIDS’ CORNER

IVE F TO FIND

Sudoku

� Solve this puzzle by ﬁlling in the empty squares with the nine letters of the player’s name. You must make sure you use each letter only once in each row, column or small box of nine squares. Do not guess, as there is only one correct solution.

T.GOLDSACK COLLINGWOOD

D A

T A

O T

K O

4 Which former Collingwood captain is now an

assistant coach for West Coast?

5 How many times has Warren Tredrea won

Port Adelaide’s best and fairest award?

D L

Essendon’s leading goalkicker Dean Bailey play for?

Coleman Medal?

3 Which club did Melbourne coach

G D

K O

wiin the 1 Who was the last St Kilda player to win 2 How many times was Matthew Lloyd

QUICK QUESTIONS

THIS WEEK’S ANSWERS 5 QUICK QUESTIONS: 1. Fraser Gehrig (2005); 2. 12 times; 3. Essendon; 4. Scott Burns; 5. Four times. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: The Fremantle player in the background has been removed; colour of football changed to red; Docker David Mundy’s hair has been changed from blond to red; the purple stripes on Mundy’s left sock have been removed; letters on fence signage have been removed.

B IG G MOUTH: MOUT MOU MO M OU OU H: BIG SCRAMBLED SCRA SC S C CRA CR RA R AM MBLE MB B BL BLE LE L ED FO FOOTBALLER: OTBA BALLER ER E R: CRYPTIC CRYP CR C RY RYPTIC TIC TI C FOOTBALLERS: FOOT FO FOO F O OO OOT OTBALLERS: O LE

74 AFL RECORD RE R ECOR CO C ORD visit OR viis vvis isit it afl aflrecord. flrecord.com.au .co om m.a .a au au

timeon

NAB AFL RISING STAR

Rising to the challenge Young Lions midﬁelder Tom Rockliﬀ has overcome early setbacks setbac to forge an AFL career. CALLUM TWOMEY

verlooked in the NAB AFL Draft, selected in the pre-season draft and now starring for the Brisbane Lions, 20-year-old Tom Rockliff’s progression to the top level has been far from orthodox. And, following his 26-possession effort against Richmond in round 13, he is a NAB AFL Rising Star nominee. Rockliff says he is slowly getting used to playing for the Lions, “but I don’t think I’m comfortable yet. I don’t think you ever really feel comfortable week-in week-out, because the opposition is always strong and, with the evenness of the It’s good to competition, this year it’s a get knocked challenge every week.” down a few times Rockliff has become and have some used to challenges, setbacks because though. After leading the TAC Cup’s goalkicking it makes in 2008 and gaining Vic you stronger Country selection, the TOM ROCKLIFF Murray Bushranger sat down and watched the draft, only Last year, he to be left shattered when his played almost name wasn’t called out. a full season in the QAFL, “At the time, it was pretty before making his AFL debut disappointing to miss out, even against Collingwood in round though I did know it could have 18. That taste of senior action gone either way,” Rockliff says. showed Rockliff the benefits of “But after a couple of days of a strong pre-season. complaining, you get back on “It was a lot quicker than I first the horse, get back training and expected and it caught me out hope to get a chance elsewhere.” a little bit, but I did a lot of work That chance came when during my pre-season break Melbourne invited him to in Melbourne, doing boxing train with it in the lead-up and other fitness work to get to the pre-season draft and, my running levels up to AFL though the Demons indicated standard,” he says. they would select him as a “Because I broke my leg rookie, the Lions snuck in first as a 16-year-old, I had never and took Rockliff with pick five. really done a good pre-season,

2010 NAB AFL Rising Star Nominees

FOCUSED:

After being overlooked in the draft, young midﬁelder Tom Rockliﬀ has grabbed his opportunity with the Brisbane Lions.

Round 1 – Chris Yarran (Carl) Round 2 – Daniel Hannebery (Syd) Round 3 – Ryan Bastinac (NM) Round 4 – Nic Naitanui (WCE) Round 5 – Jack Trengove (Melb) Round 6 – Todd Banﬁeld (Bris) Round 7 – Tom Scully (Melb) Round 8 – Jake Melksham (Ess) Round 9 – Nathan Fyfe (Frem) Round 10 – Dustin Martin (Rich) Round 11 – Jordan Gysberts (Melb) Round 12 – Ben Reid (Coll) Round 13 – Tom Rockliﬀ (BL)

THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW but doing that extra work has certainly been worthwhile – I’ve noticed that instead of being at the back of the training groups, I was towards the middle and front sections of the running.” As the Lions struggle for form, Rockliff’s past month has been impressive. He has averaged 28 disposals a game and used his smarts and pace to add an important element to the midﬁeld. After his early disappointment, Rockliff is not letting his opportunity slip. “I think it’s always good to get knocked down a few times and have some setbacks because it makes you stronger,” Rockliff says.

Rockliﬀ was born in Lismore, NSW, and lived in Casino for two years before moving to country Victoria.

2 He is the ‘baby’ of his

family, with a brother (aged 24) and sister (22).

3 Rockliﬀ was studying to be a teacher, but is no longer enrolled in the course.

“If you get everything handed to you, then you don’t appreciate it as much, but I’m trying to grab the opportunity I have at the moment with both hands.”

Each week throughout the home and away season, a panel of judges will select the nominee for the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star. At the completion of the season, one outstanding player will be chosen as the 2010 NAB AFL Rising Star winner. He will receive an investment folio, a dedicated personal banker, a financial planner and the Ron Evans Medal, all courtesy of the NAB. The NAB Rising Star award is the final stage of the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, which supports grassroots players and football communities and helps young Australians fulfil their dream of playing in the AFL.

76 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

NAB Community NAB AFL Auskick

Who will be the 2010 NAB AFL Auskicker of the Year? The search is on again in 2010 for the NAB AFL Auskicker of the Year. We are looking for the Auskicker that best demonstrates the spirit of the game – commitment, enthusiasm, teamwork and passion. Twenty-two nominees for the Award will receive a money-can’t-buy 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final Experience in Melbourne, plus the overall winner will receive $5,000 in a NAB Smart Junior Saver Account and Joel Selwood as a footy mentor in 2011.

Enter at nab.com.au/auskick today!

AFL Authorisation Code: GFAFL10/01. The provision of tickets to any match that is a declared event under the Major Sporting Events Act 2009 (“Act”) including the 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final is subject to the provision of tickets being permitted in an approved ticketing scheme under the Act.

timeon

LAST LINE

Applying data laterally

How to get rid of the pack mentality

n the football of yesteryear, reference was often made to what would become a familiar term: the dead pocket. Nowadays, I swear I am seeing another version of it: the dead half. Before 1969, many games were played on windswept suburban ovals or boggy grounds, with no penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds on the full. Without impunity, defenders revelled directing playy into the dead pocket. Consequently, long passages of play involving nearly all players from both teams searching for a kick and avoiding the cold and miserable conditions sweeping extensive areas of vacant ﬁeld were sucked into the dead pocket, where all the action was. As a result of the extreme congestion, stoppage numbers skyrocketed, as did tackles, and scoring a goal from the dead pocket was bloody hard. It did not look pretty. As noted previously in this column, public dismay at the time led to the introduction of the out-on-the-full rule for the start of the 1969 season. Almost immediately, the rule change stimulated a more open style of game. In effect, it laid the foundations of modern football, and the 1970 Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood heralded its birth. Featuring 31 goals, that Grand Final was played at an exhilarating pace from start to 78 AFL RECORD visit aﬂrecord.com.au

watching dead pocket football of yesteryear, pre-1969. How can it be fixed? Given that exponential increases in interchange rotations is likely a major contributor, capping interchange numbers appears a reasonable redress. But will officials have the will and support to do so? Changing a kicking rule (out-on-the-full) and setting up an exclusion zone (centre square) have proven far more successful and less contentious than modifying umpiring interpretations (prior opportunity and disposing Chaotic of the ball, etc). passages of play Hence, in the interests of fostering ensued, with mass discussion, here are packs of players two possible rule fighting for changes designed the ball to break up the excessive congestion and scrimmages occurring in the dead half of the ground. First, a mark from a forward half of the ground teammate’s kick within the reserved for his benefit. Hence, defensive 50m area can only the rest of the team was be awarded if the mark is taken instructed to crowd the centre outside the 50m arc. Wow! bounce. Where else could they Defenders kicking long and go at tiny Glenferrie Oval? taking on the field – I’d like Opponents responded likewise to see that! and soon chaotic passages of Second, at any stoppage, play ensued, with mass packs of a minimum of three players players fighting for the ball. from each team must be It was pretty much what I am standing within the respective seeing a lot of now. However, 50m areas. If a team is caught today’s congealed ‘spectacles’ short, a free kick is awarded to of dead pocket play and centre the opposition at the place where circle nesting are happening the stoppage has occurred. all over what I have dubbed I envisage this could work the dead half. in a similar way to centre What is the dead half? It is square infringements, but the all-too-common phenomena in reverse. of 36 players cramming into a Testing these rules ‘off-stage’, half of the field where the ball say in junior competitions or is. When the ball eventually state leagues, would be an ideal switches to the other half, all way to measure their impact. 36 players then switch to that CONGESTION:

Hawthorn of the early 1970s deliberately clogged up the midﬁeld to leave space up forward for champion goalkicker Peter Hudson.

finish. There were no passages of dead pocket play. The style of game suited me. In the second half, I kicked four goals and one behind. The closeness of the result (10 points in favour of Carlton) and the manner in which the game was played was adopted as the early model for a brand of free-flowing contested football that has since flourished in the modern era. Notably, extreme congestion around the ball leading to excessive stoppages, stacks-on-the-mill tackling and low-scoring outcomes are aspects generally frowned upon. A case in point was the introduction in 1973 of the 50m centre bounce exclusion zone (the centre square), which allows only four players from each team to contest the ball. At the time, Hawthorn’s goalkicking machine Peter Hudson usually had the entire

same side. The result is an explosion in tackle counts, holding-the-ball decisions and low scoring. It’s like

TED HOPKINS IS A CARLTON PREMIERSHIP PLAYER AND FOUNDER OF CHAMPION DATA. HIS CURRENT PROJECT IS TEDSPORT, A HIGH PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYSIS AND CONSULTING SERVICE.

We got Lance Franklin to hang up his boots≥

Artist: David Williams, Gilimbaa

‘Buddy’ is one of the most exciting players in the AFL today and is now one of the Hawks leading goal kickers. Which is why we asked him to hang up his boots. Buddy’s playing boots have been painted by an Australian Indigenous artist, and hung as part of an exhibition to celebrate the talent of Indigenous players in the AFL today. See the full Qantas Boots & Dreams Exhibition and tour details at afl.com.au/qantasboots Qantas. Proud supporter of dreams.

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